


Honey, Honey

by blaqqkat (she_was_art)



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Bee!Chloe, Chloe not being a bitch, F/M, Fluff, Kissing, One Shot, Oneshot, pre-reveal, who'dathunk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2017-01-27
Packaged: 2018-09-20 07:24:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9480992
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/she_was_art/pseuds/blaqqkat
Summary: Nathanael finally finds his muse in a haughty, self-important superheroine that makes him feel like he's drowning in honey. Too bad Chloe Bourgeois won't seem to leave him alone now.(And he definitely doesn't like Chloe at all, stop looking at him like that.)





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [The Perils of Fake-Dating a Superheroine](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9210764) by [siderealSandman](https://archiveofourown.org/users/siderealSandman/pseuds/siderealSandman). 



It is no simple task for an artist to find their muse. The first time Nathanael had ever found his, he was fifteen and her eyes were so, so blue. Marinette was delicate and sugar-sweet, and he only ever wanted to shield her from the world. Of course, turning into a villain that so cruelly paralleled the heroic version of himself he’d crafted was the worst way to do so. He’d stopped drawing her after that. After all, how could you spend all of your time drawing someone you couldn’t bear to look at?

It’s been two years since then, and Nath still struggles to find something that resonates with him quite the way Marinette once had. Not for lack of trying, of course! But no matter how many times he strolled around Paris with a sketchbook in hand, nothing inspired him. He was just waiting for that spark. That jolt of electricity, that-

Nathanael didn’t even get time to process the flash of bold color in his peripheral before he was knocked to the ground. When he came to, he realized two things. The first thing he noticed when he looked up was that the city was in _chaos._ How did he not notice that before? The curse of being an artist, he supposed. He sort of had a one-track mind when it came to inspiration, and-

The second thing Nathanael noticed was that he had a superheroine on top of him. The same one he’s seen all over the news, saving the world in that bug-themed suit of hers. And _wow_ , she really was as beautiful as everyone says.

“What,” she begins. “Are you _doing_? This whole block is supposed to be evacuated! It’s so typical for you to have your head in the clouds, Na- I mean, you naive artist.”

As much as he would’ve liked to say that he was listening to her, all he could focus on was the way her mouth formed the words. Was his face getting hot? A quick brush of his palm to his cheek confirmed that, yes, it was. After a moment of analyzing his face with narrowed eyes, she clamored off of him and extended a hand. He stared at it for a moment before the gears in his brain began to move and he realized that she was offering to help him up. Nathanael put his hand in hers, blood boiling as she pulled him to his feet.

“I would offer to get you to safety, but I don’t have time,” she said haughtily, cocking a hip. “I trust that you can find your own way?”

“Yes,” Nathanael rushed to say. “I’ll be fine.”

“And you promise not to get caught in the line of fire or snatched up by the akuma?”

Her eyes were fierce, as if she was daring him to answer to the contrary. Something in him was a little frightened at her intensity, but the rest of him was… flattered? She was looking at him like his safety was vital. Like he’d better not _dare_ put himself in harm’s way. Would this be a weird time to swoon?

“I, uh, yes. I promise, ma’am.”

She nodded and turned to rejoin the fight. At the last minute, however, she glanced back over her shoulder. Her serious demeanor melted into something almost playful as her eyes met his, and Nathanael felt something in his stomach twist and flutter.

“You know,” she drawled, rolling her eyes and giving a cavalier flip her hair. “Most people just call me Queen Bee.”

Nathanael doesn’t know how long he stands there after she flies away, jaw dropped and heart pounding. When he finally snaps out of it, he realizes two things. First is that he probably should take cover. Queen Bee really had been serious about him getting out of there, and he didn’t exactly feel like falling victim to the akuma of the week. But the second thing he realized was how tightly his fingers were clenching his sketchbook. Seeing her had lit up a part of himself that had been in the dark for so long. It was like he’d touched a live wire. Like he’d just received a defibrillator to the chest.

Like he’d just been struck by lightning.

***

Walking into class the next day felt like trying to move with a lead anchor wrapped around his ankle. Nathanael had spent the entire night drawing _her_. And he still couldn’t seem to stop himself. As soon as he sat at his desk and set his bag on the floor, he was already taking out his sketchbook to flesh out an outline he’d started after waking up. Nath just couldn’t seem to get her eyes right. They were big, but they didn’t look young. They were fierce, but they weren’t angry. They were sexy, but not flirtatious-

“What are you drawing?”

Nathanael sighed at the familiar voice without even bothering to look up.

“Nothing, Chloe.”

“What’s with the attitude?” she whined, coming closer. “I’m just curious! I never see you draw during class.”

“And whose fault do you think that is?” he grumbled. Chloe huffed and hopped up to sit on his desk, but Nathanael only hissed and shielded his sketchbook from her prying eyes.

“I don’t know what you’re implying, but if I did then I would say whoever you’re talking about is a changed person and _might_ mildly regret that one time she showed your drawings of Marinette to everyone. But I really don’t know what you’re implying.”

“Don’t you?” Nathanael asked flatly.

“I really don’t,” Chloe insisted. “Now show me.”

“No.”

“The more you hide it, the more I want to know.”

“It’s good to want things, Chloe.”

“Nathanael, I’m not going to ask again.”

“Good, because it would be annoying to say ‘no’ again.”

“Just let me see what you’re drawing!” Chloe demanded, hopping off the desk and stomping her foot. She reached for the sketchbook, but Nathanael stood up to get it out of reach in time. Which, of course, only made her louder and more persistent.

“Come _on_! I just want to see what’s so important that it’s got you drawing again-”

“It’s not a big deal,” Nath defended. “Just let it go, Chloe.”

“It’s probably some stupid girl again-”

“She’s _not_ stupid!”

And suddenly the whole class was staring, and Chloe was gaping like a fish. _Great._ Nathanael sat back down and put a fist over his mouth, wishing for probably the millionth time in his short life that he could make himself invisible.

“Who’s not stupid?” Alya asked with narrowed eyes, her gaze darting back and forth between Chloe and Nathanael.

“Uh,” Nathanael stammered, face burning from the attention. “I, um-”

“Frida Kahlo,” Chloe interrupted blithely. “I said that she was stupid for depicting herself as less attractive than she really was in her self portraits. Nathanael was just saying that she was intentionally doing it to depict her inner turmoil and deep-seeded issues with her low self-esteem.”

“Huh,” Alya exhaled, obviously not expecting that answer. “That’s… interesting. He’s right, though. And anyone who’d call Frida Kahlo stupid is obviously overcompensating for their own lack of artistic creativity.”

“Bite me, Césaire,” Chloe hissed.

“The only one my girlfriend will be biting is _me_ ,” Nino joked, butting in with an easy smile. Alya whacked the back of his head but gave a girlish giggle as she did so.

“You so _bad_ ,” she fake-hissed.

Nathanael watched as Chloe gagged at the couple’s antics and refocused her eyes on him. He felt annoyed at the flood of gratitude that washed over him, seeing as the unwanted attention was Chloe’s fault in the first place.

“I didn’t know you were so well-versed in Frida Kahlo,” Nathanael murmured, glancing up to catch Chloe staring intently at some fixed point in space before turning her attention to him.

“I may not be good at making art, but I dominate in art history. Just like I do in my many other talents.”

Nathanael rolled his eyes.

“Color me impressed.”

“Is that an art pun?”

“Um, should it be?”

“God, no,” Chloe breathed, leaning against his desk. “I’ve been spending more and more time with this coworker of mine who puns _constantly_. Honestly, I don’t know how his partner puts up with it.”

“You have a job?” Nathanael asked, trying to imagine Chloe working a day in her life.

“Not for money, obviously,” Chloe sniffed. “It’s just some volunteer work I do a couple times a week. Making the world a better place and all that.”

“Somehow, I _highly_ doubt that.”

“Well, I definitely saved _your_ ass just now.”

“I guess you did,” Nathanael admitted. “Even though it was _your_ fault-”

“No need to thank me,”  Chloe interrupted, completely ignoring what Nath was about to say. “Showing me your drawings of the girl that’s got your panties in a twist will be thanks enough.”

“You’re really not gonna let go of this, are you?”

“Nope.”

After all these years, Nathanael really should’ve known better than to try to beat Chloe Bourgeois in a glaring contest. But no more than one minute later he was handing over his sketchbook with eyes that stung and watered from the effort of matching Chloe’s unblinking rage. She gave a little chuckle that screamed of superiority as she flipped through his old sketches to find his new muse.

“You’ve got me curious to see who she is,” she murmured, flipping through old drawings of Nath’s pets and recreations of famous portraits he had seen around the Louvre.

“Curiosity killed the cat,” Nathanael sighed.

“If only,” Chloe muttered cryptically. “I just want to see this mystery girl. Whoever she is, I bet she’s not as cool as…”

Chloe trailed off, clearly having reached the pages with Nath’s drawings of Queen Bee. He watched, embarrassed, as she gently ran her fingers along the silhouette of the blonde superheroine mid-flight.

“ _Me_ ,” Chloe breathed, the uncertainty of her tone making it sound more like a question than her finally finishing her sentence.

Nathanael watched as she flipped through the pages slowly, her eyes lingering over every detail. He couldn’t bear to see her expression as she found more and more drawings, nervously looking around the room for a distraction. Adrien Agreste had just come in, so maybe he could get Chloe’s attention? Honestly, anything that would get Chloe off his back before she started judging him would be great. He worried that he looked like a creepy, Queen Bee-obsessed fanboy. It was completely normal to fill ten pages (front and back) with drawings of the same person in a single night, right? He couldn’t help it. The end result had never quite looked right. They never did her justice. Anyone could look at the drawings and plainly see-

“Is she really this pretty?”

Chloe’s voice was quiet for once, as if she’d been speaking to herself. Still, Nathanael couldn’t help but feel a little indignant on Queen Bee’s behalf. Honestly, he felt borderline offended at the implication.

“No,” he griped, reaching for the sketchbook only for Chloe to block him. “She’s much prettier. I’m too shitty an artist to capture just how beautiful she is.”

Was Chloe Bourgeois _blushing?_ His eyes must be deceiving him.

“You’re not a shitty artist. These drawings are… _amazing_ ,” she gushed. Nathanael just about fell out of his seat. Was this the _Twilight Zone_? Had Nath wandered into an alternate dimension? Chloe noticed his stunned silence and cleared her throat.

“For an amateur, that is,” Chloe quickly added.

“Ah, thanks. I guess.”

“I suppose it helps that you have an acceptable muse,” Chloe noted, finally handing back Nath’s sketchbook. “I heard Queen Bee is quite impressive.”

“That’s an understatement,” Nathanael declared. “I actually met her yesterday.”

“Oh really,” Chloe asked, seemingly disinterested as she glanced down at her nails. “What’s she like?”

Nathanael answered with the first word that came to mind.

“ _Bold_. Like she’d take down anyone who gets in her way. And confident, like she knew she’d win.”

“She probably would,” Chloe shrugged. “I heard she’s a badass.”

“I believe it,” Nathanael sighed. “She’s so intense.”

“Of course she is!” Chloe agreed. “I mean, she’s best friends with Ladybug, right?”

“ _Excuse me_ ,” Alya butted in. “I’m pretty sure _Volpina_ is Ladybug’s favorite.”

“That’s cute, babe,” Nino laughed. “But I think we all know that Ladybug and _Jade Turtle_ are the two wisest. Which definitely makes them tighter than the rest of the squad.”

“Are you guys _insane_ ?” Adrien hissed, turning in his seat to glare at the three of them. “ _Chat Noir_ is _obviously_ Ladybug’s closest companion in the entire world! They’re yin and yang! Creation and destruction! Good luck and bad! Besides, the two of them were partners before all these other heroes showed up out of _nowhere_ -”

“ _What_ ,” Chloe gasped, indignant. “I adore you, Adrikins, but _how could you even-_ ”

“Dear _God_ ,” Marinette groaned, walking into class late (as per usual). “It is too early in the morning for this bickering.”

“Good morning, Marinette,” Nathanael waved, hoping that she might be the one to break up all this talk of superheroes.

“ _Salut,_ Nathanael,” she smiled. But as Marinette edged towards her seat, her eyes trailed over to Adrien (as they always did) and Nath knew it was a lost cause.

“So, what exactly is the problem?”

“Reason with these savages, Marinette,” Alya begged. “Ladybug’s favorite is obviously-”

“Her entire team, because she loves them equally and only third graders pick favorite friends,” Marinette finished flatly, sitting down and pulling out her tablet.

“But who do you think she’d save first if they were all stuck in a burning building?” Nino insisted.

“The answer is obvious,” Marinette groused. “Queen Bee has wings, so she can fly out herself. Jade Turtle’s shell is pretty much indestructible, so he would just take cover. And he’d definitely shield Volpina while he was at it because they obviously have a thing going on-”

“They _so_ do not,” Alya interrupted defensively. “Volpina said in an interview that she had a _boyfriend_ , and she definitely wouldn’t betray his trust to run off with Donatello-”

“Jade Turtle is _definitely_ Leonardo,” Nino defended. “But Alya is right. He wouldn’t cheat on the beautiful girlfriend I’m sure he has for some vixen-”

“But you think Volpina’s cute, right?” Alya asked, looking strangely self-conscious. Nino sputtered.

“Well, duh, but not as cute as _you_ -”

“ _Anyways_ ,” Adrien interrupted. “What Marinette was getting at was that Chat is undoubtedly the one Ladybug would save from a fire, which makes him Ladybug’s dearest teammate. Meaning that Marinette is clearly the only one here with common sense. Case closed.”

Marinette flushed.

“I didn’t say that! You make it sound like Ladybug and Chat Noir are an _item._ ”

“I mean,” Adrien blushed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Couldn’t they be?”

“I, um, that is,” Marinette stammered. “Maybe they _could_ be if she weren’t in love with someone else-”

“ _What_ ,” Adrien gasped, visibly upset. “Where did you hear that Ladybug was in love with someone?”

“Well, I-”

Nathanael stopped listening around then, glad that everyone was riled up enough to pay him no mind. He pulled his sketchbook out again and tried to capture the sultry sweep of Queen Bee’s eyelashes, frowning when her heavy lids made her look more tired than seductive. He erased and redrew, quickly getting lost in his work and forgetting the world around him. It was more convincing, this way, to pretend that he couldn’t feel Chloe’s eyes on him. It was easier ignore the fact that she kept darting her gaze back to him and his sketchbook with an interest that she’d never quite seemed to think he was worthy of before.

But most of all, it was better that he keep head down and act like her unwavering attention didn’t have Nath’s heart ready to beat out of his chest.

***

It was a few months later, when Queen Bee had saved him from danger for the third time that week alone, that she started to crack.

“Now, _what_ are you going to do next time there’s an akuma attack?” she asked shrilly.

“Run away,” Nathanael droned blandly, the same rehearsed lie he’d been forced to give the last dozen times they’d had this conversation.

“And what are you _not_ going to do the next time there’s an akuma attack?”

Nathanael blushed and muttered under his breath.

“I’m sorry, what was that?”

“I’m not gonna try to take reference photos of the akuma for my graphic novel,” he grumbled, cheeks burning.

“And you’re actually going to keep your word next time,” Queen Bee insisted with narrowed eyes. “ _Right?_ ”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Be honest,” she demanded, definitely picking up on the nervous flit of Nathanael’s eyes as she crossed her arms.

“Don’t you mean _bee_ honest?”

Nath watched as Queen Bee spun around to glare daggers at one of Paris’s favorite superheroes. He felt a little small as Chat Noir sauntered over, oozing confidence and charm. It struck him as odd, suddenly, when he realized that he’d never seen Queen Bee interacting with another member of her team outside of crime fighting. If the sudden stiffness of her posture and the clench of her jaw were indicators, Nath might be under the impression that not every superhero in Paris got along with the others as well as Ladybug and Chat Noir did.

“If I hear one more pun from you today, Chat Noir, I will personally make sure that you wind up as puréed cat food before the week is through.”

“Hey,” Chat said, throwing his hands up in defense with a good-natured grin. “I just wanted to let you know that Volpina and I took care of things. Bug is cleansing the akuma as we speak. But if you’re busy-”

“I _am_ , thank you very much. I have to make sure this civilian is safe-”

“He looks safe to me,” Chat Noir frowned. “You safe, pal?”

“Yeah, I’m safe,” Nath reassured, surprise flooding him when Bee turned to shoot him a look of betrayal.

“Then come on, Bee. The press is wanting a conference with all five of us.”

And then Nathanael saw something he thought he’d never see in his entire life. Queen Bee- graceful, sophisticated, polished- stamped her foot and had a _tantrum._ Like a small child told to pick up her toys.

“I don’t _wanna_ ,” she whined, crossing her arms. “The press is stupid! They only ever focus on dumb old _Hawkmoth_ , Volpina and Jade Turtle’s _sexual tension_ , and you and LB wanting to kiss each other’s _faces off-_ ”

“ _What,_ ” Chat spluttered.

“So I’m going to stay here with this civilian,” Bee pressed on. “Because he’s obviously shaken and in need of emotional support.”

Nathanael started to protest but was quickly met with a sharp elbow to his side.

“Yep,” he winced. “I’m holding back the tears as we speak.”

“So if you could kindly _buzz off_ ,” Queen Bee seethed at Chat Noir. “It would be appreciated.”

“I believe buzzing off would be _your_ forte,” Chat snarked back.

“Okay, that’s it-”

“Oh!” Nathanael feigned, fed up with their bickering. “The crippling emotional trauma!”

Bee looked at him liked he’d grown a second head before catching on. She feigned concern, pressing a comforting hand to Nath’s back and stepping in closer. She was so near that Nathanael could count her eyelashes if his overactive mind didn’t tend to lose track so easily. Thunder erupted in his chest. That definitely wasn’t the sound of his heart doing the Paso Doble against his ribcage. Nope. No siree.

“I should get you somewhere quieter,” she played along. “As in somewhere where this loudmouth is _not._ ”

“ _Hey-_ ”

“Enjoy your boring press junket, Cat Boy!”

And with that, Queen Bee scooped Nath up and flew off. In the back of his mind, Nath wondered when he got so comfortable with a girl smaller than he was carrying him princess style. It was likely around the time that he found himself getting personally cornered by an akuma every other week. Should he feel emasculated? Because all he felt was a honey-sweet warmth pooling in his veins as her ponytail brushed against his fingers where they gripped her shoulder and her perfume wafted between them. Whatever the scent was, it smelled nice. And expensive. Nathanael added ‘wears expensive perfume’ to the short list of things he knew about Queen Bee.

“Thank you,” he murmured as they flew through the night. “For always saving me.”

“It’s my job,” she muttered, not quite accepting the compliment as she usually did. “Someone has to make sure you don’t get squashed every time there’s an akuma, after all.”

“Still,” Nath insisted. “I appreciate it. You’re… you’re amazing.”

Nathanael about had a heart attack when they suddenly fell about ten feet out of the air before continuing on course. Startled, he looked over to see Bee grimacing.

“Forget how to fly much?” he teased, boldened.

“I _will_ drop you,” she threatened.

“But then you’ll lose your number one fan,” he laughed.

“I’m pretty sure Sabrina Raincomprix holds that title,” she grumbled back.

Nath wheezed in response. She was probably right on that one. When Alya’s LadyBlog fizzled out (Alya had suddenly become too busy during akuma battles to get any footage, for some reason), Sabrina had been inspired to start a blog of her own: QueenMeme. It was awful, really. The whole thing was a slew of fan memes depicting how wonderful Queen Bee is.

“She worships you,” Nath managed to say between bouts of laughter.

“Well, for good reason,” Bee snarked. “I’m the greatest superhero Paris has ever seen.”

“You might be right,” he hummed in response.

The next time her wings faltered, Nathanael just laughed.

To say he was surprised when Queen Bee landed on the roof of his apartment complex would have been the most obscene understatement. It was disorienting, like having a dream where reality and fiction were so intertwined that he could make head or tails of neither. After all, this _was_ his home but-

“How did you know where I live?”

Queen Bee had the sense to look embarrassed. Another wave of surprise washed over Nath as she looked down at her feet, kicking at the nonexistent dirt on the gravel rooftop. “Bashful” was a color he’d never seen painted on her before, and Nath’s head was reeling from all these new sides of Bee he was seeing tonight.

“I, um,” she stammered, the way she nervously gripped her elbow making Nathanael’s head spin. “I was, you know, patrolling around here a couple weeks ago, and I saw you go inside. I was late, and you didn’t come out so I just assumed- I mean, unless you have a girlfriend or-”

Queen Bee abruptly cut herself off with a groan and swiped her palms down her face. Nathanael watched in awe as she took a moment to recollect herself, his mouth gaping as he himself tried to formulate some sort of words. He was still reeling when Bee pieced herself together enough to send him a deadly serious look.

“Do you live here or not?” she asked hotly, crossing her arms.

“I, uh, yeah?”

He didn’t mean to make his words sound like a question, but she seemed to find the answer satisfactory enough as she plowed on.

“And what’s the deal with the whole girlfriend situation?” She demanded, expression fierce despite the deep crimson in her cheeks,

“ _What?_ ” Nathanael gaped, head spinning as she leaned in _closer_.

“Do you have a girlfriend,” she grit out, repeating her words slowly. “Or _not?_ ”

“Not,” he rushed to say. “I mean, no, I don’t.”

Her eyes scanned his face, as if trying find a lie in his flushing cheeks or the nervous crease between his brows. And without fanfare or ceremony, she darted in for a kiss. It was brief, but he still had time to process the slick rub of her lipgloss and the warmth of her skin and the rubbery honeycomb texture of her gloved hand where it brushed his jaw. The smack of their lips pulling apart would’ve been deafeningly loud if his own heartbeat wasn’t frantic enough to cover the sound. She looked up at him after pulling away, those piercing eyes of hers not looking through him like usual, but _into_ him? He wondered what she saw there. Could she see the jittery shake of his body? Or the way his skin was practically _thrumming_ with electricity?

“I’m glad you don’t have a girlfriend,” she finally murmured, voice low and secretive. “I would’ve stolen you from her anyways, but it’s a bother to deal with competition.”

Nath let out a shaky breath, unsure of what to say next. Speechlessness was a problem he continually dealt with, and he was used to people getting frustrated with his silence. But not _her_ . He didn’t want her to look down on him. _Speak_ , he hissed at himself. _Say something. Anything._

Before he could work up his nerve, a loud beep chirped between them. Nathanael watched as disappointment flooded Bee’s face, and his heart clenched.

“I have to go,” she sighed. “I’m about to de-transform.”

“Oh,” he breathed, feeling like he’d missed some sort of opportunity just then. “I guess I’ll see you later?”

She nodded and backed away, and the space between them suddenly felt cold. He watched, dazed, as she stepped onto the ledge and slipped him a final “goodnight” from over her shoulder before flying away. He tried making sense of what had just happened. Did a superhero really want to be his _girlfriend_ ? Every logical part of his brain told him it was impossible, but he couldn’t deny the fact that she’d kissed him. She’d _kissed_ him! It took a while to snap out of his stupor, and a little while longer to realize that he had no way to enter his apartment building from the closed-off roof. Meaning he would have to go down the old, creaky fire escape to enter through the building’s front entrance. _Great_.

As Nathanael went down, he thought about everything that had happened that night. Once again, his mind snagged on the details of The Kiss, and he bit his lip. Absentmindedly, Nath noted that now his own lips now tasted like cherries.

***

It wasn’t until a week later, during a picnic at the park his classmates had thrown together to celebrate the end of the school year, that Nathanael had realized he was in deep shit. It was honestly one of the better afternoons he’d had in a long time. The weather was perfect, everyone was laughing and having a great time, and even _Chloe_ seemed to be playing nice. But then Alya had to go and speak.

“Attention fellow classmates,” she called out, pulling a champagne flute out of literally _nowhere_ and tapping the rim with a piece of silverware. “I have an announcement!”

The group quieted, Marinette and Nino rolling their eyes while others looked on expectantly. Alya cleared her throat dramatically before pulling out an honest to God _speech_ to read from.

“Today, we are all gathered here to celebrate our temporary release from the prison we all call ‘school’,” she began, grinning when the group cheered in agreement. “Today was meant to be a time of laughter! A time of peace! A time of trust! But, alas, it is difficult for me to bask in the glow of our friendship when I know there’s a _traitor_ in our midst.”

A niggling feeling pressed at the back of Nath’s mind as Rose and Mylene made sounds of confusion and Max whispered something to Kim. But Alya pressed on.

“Someone here today has committed a most heinous crime in the past week. I caught them in the act without their knowing, and have given them ample time to confess their sin. But they have not come forward or even shown any signs of remorse! In fact-”

“Alya,” Nino murmured, nudging her side. “Is there a point to this?”

“Hold on, babe,” she hissed. “I’m getting to the good part.”

Alya cleared her throat again before speaking.

“In fact, this friend of ours has continued with business as usual, which leads me to believe that this crime isn’t their first offense! Exactly what is this crime, you may ask. Well, I’ll tell you!”

Alya paused dramatically, looking around at everyone’s faces. Nathanael could’ve sworn her eyes snagged on him. Was it in his head? It might’ve been, because even _Nino_ was starting to look nervous at this point.

“Without telling me, superhero aficionado, someone has been having a _heated affair_ with one of Paris’s finest! I only found out last week after catching this person in the arms of a superhero, sharing a late-night _kiss_ on their rooftop.”

Nathanael’s stomach dropped as his classmates broke out into gasps and accusations amongst themselves. He didn’t like having his private life for the world to see, and now-

“What exactly are you trying to say, Alya,” Chloe hissed, bad mood emerging for the first time that day.

Her eyes were narrowed and ferocious, daring Alya to finish her claim. Nath wondered what had her so defensive, and surprise shot through him like a bullet when her eyes darted to his face. The glance was quick enough to make him think he’d imagined it. And maybe he did? Maybe-

“What I’m trying to say is that I’m about to expose one of our peers for what they are,” Alya cried out.

This was it. Nathanael’s heart was pounding, and-

“Tell me the nature of your secret rendevouz with Chat Noir, _Marinette Dupain-Cheng!_ ”

Nathanael gaped as Marinette, now a blushing, stuttering mess, stammered out denials. Their classmates were scandalized, of course. Even Adrien Agreste was obviously flushed from the shock of the sweetest girl in their class having a torrid romance with a superhero after dark. He felt for Marinette, he really did. But Nath couldn’t deny his relief about not being the star of Alya’s accusations.

It was while the class was distracted with the drama of Marinette’s love life (“It just _happened_ , I swear!”) someone tugged Nath up by the arm and dragged him away from the group. He was too startled to do anything but follow his kidnapper, eyes wide at the swing of her blonde ponytail as she took him somewhere more secluded. Only when they were shrouded by trees did she turn back to look at him.

“You got lucky,” she finally grumbled. “What are the odds that Marinette is also hooking up with a superhero?”

“ _Also_ ,” Nath choked. “What are you-”

“I know, Nath,” Chloe grumbled. “About you and Bee. It’s a wonder that no one else does, honestly. She’s always saving you, and you draw her all the time-”

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” he whispered.

“Of course not,” she hissed. “But this nonsense with Marinette made me realize something.”

“And what is that?” he asked, brows furrowing.

“It’s not safe for you to be dating a superhero. That idiot, Chat Noir, is going to get Marinette in trouble. A relationship with Queen Bee would just put you in danger.”

And what kind of nerve did _Chloe Bourgeois_ have telling Nathanael who he could or couldn’t date? Especially when all Bee had ever done was keep him safe! For the first time in ages, the heat in Nath’s cheeks wasn’t from embarrassment or lovestruck wonder.

It was from rage.

“I can do what I want,” Nathanael bit back defensively. “You’re not my boss, Chloe.”

“I don’t care what you say,” Chloe growled back. “You’re not going to date Queen Bee!”

“So what,” Nathanael spat, throwing his hands in the air. “You’re gonna _break us up?_ ”

“What, are you dating now?” Chloe groused, crossing her arms and shooting him an unreadable expression.

“I- Maybe? I don’t know,” Nath muttered, shrinking back a little. Chloe looked at him a long moment before stepping closer.

“I don’t care either way,” Chloe grumbled, darting a glance at his mouth. “If you are, then I’ll just steal you away from her.”

“You,” Nathanael spluttered. “ _What?_ ”

“You heard me,” she replied haughtily despite the pretty pink brushing her cheeks. “I don’t want you to like Queen Bee. I want you to like _me._ ”

And then that thing happened where Nathanael couldn’t speak. Because this was the part where he was supposed to tell Chloe that he wouldn’t fall for her in a thousand years. That he liked Queen Bee, and there was no way _Chloe_ of all people could sway his affection. But instead he was left with goosebumps as her eyes languorously swept over his face.

“I’m going to kiss you now,” she murmured, voice softer than he’d ever heard it before. “And you’d better kiss me back this time.”

Nath’s head was such a mess that any attempts to think past ‘kiss me back’ were like trying to swim through a lake of molasses. He’d barely made any sense of her words at all before Chloe was grabbing his collar and pulling him down to meet her mouth.

This kiss was not brief. It was slow and heated enough to have his bones melting at the joints. She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him in closer, and he followed mindlessly as he gripped her waist in turn. He felt the strangest buzzing where his chest and stomach and thighs pressed against hers, and no one ever told him kissing was quite like _this._ Who knew that Chloe Bourgeois had the power to make him come apart at the seams?

When she finally pulled away to breathe, he _almost_ chased her mouth for more. But this was Chloe Bourgeois. She was a bully in middle school. She was a rich brat. She was looking up at him with eyes gentler than he’d ever seen before and making him feel like the world was drenched in honey.

“Prepare yourself,” she whispered before slipping away to rejoin the picnic.

If Nath’s mind wasn’t a whirlwind, he might’ve been able to piece together the bits of déjà vu that swirled around his head. He might’ve picked up on how familiar the swing of blond hair on a retreating figure was or how strange it was that she, too, tasted like cherry lipgloss. But the only place the cyclone of his thoughts seemed to touch down on was the ache in his hand for a pencil and paper. And, of course, that he’d never noticed Chloe’s eyes were so, so _blue._

**Author's Note:**

> I've been obsessed with ML for months, so I guess it's time to finally make an unwanted contribution to the fandom. I hated Chloe in season 1, but I'll be damned if the next season doesn't turn me into Queen Bee garbage. Also, can we all ignore that I just had to slip marichat in there SOMEWHERE because honestly what even am I?


End file.
